Transactional video marking system is a forensic video watermarking system that can be used for applications such as high-value content distribution, including, but not limited to, distribution of pre-release content (e.g., early release of a movie before nationwide theatre distribution, early release for reviewer viewing, etc.), digital cinema, and video-on-demand applications. In such applications, a unique identifier is inserted into each individual video stream in the form of digital watermarks to identify, for example, the content distributor and the transaction (e.g., the provision of the content to a particular user or entity). The embedded watermarks after release of the movie, and potential piracy of the content, can be used to trace back the source of content piracy by identifying the particular user, entity or distribution channel(s) involved in dissemination of the content.